Town Square

Parents for 'climate committee' sought

The Palo Alto school district is seeking parents to apply for membership on a new District Climate Committee, to help in "creating clear channels of communication" to the community on efforts to promote "safe and welcoming schools."

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Posted by Former Paly Parent
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Oct 15, 2013 at 10:58 am

Now, no one thinks bullying is a desired outcome in our schools. But I can predict that this committee will become a massive waste of time for all concerned. What are 'clear channels of communication'? How do you 'clarify reporting of bullying'? What is a 'Safe and Welcome' school? I say this not in jest, and not to minimize the value and dignity of any individual student, but I think this is a perfect example of the kinds of things that just waste people's time and cost the district money to administer.

Our schools are safe - we are not besieged with incidents of violence or guns on campus. Are they emotionally safe and welcoming? Hard to say - but we all know that Palo Alto is a very competitive place, and the school district is a very competitive school. Parents create pressure, students pressure themselves, and schools can be a pressure cooker for kids - mostly at the high school level. Families make decisions about what level of pressure is appropriate for them, and it is not the community or the school districts role or responsibility to second guess the family.

They can provide support, but I suspect this task force has a much larger agenda about how they feel their opinions about instruction or education should prevail and be made mandatory for other families/schools.

A big waste of time. If you can not clearly describe what you intend to do in the Task Force except by referring to other task forces that are not self descriptive, be warned!!

I don't understand this. My son was pestered, incessantly, in primary school, by a student who might be described as 'needing a friend', and he thought my son was "attractive", and he followed him home every day after school. My son got angry about him, and I called the principal. I was told that my son needs to be "understanding". I got furious about that answer, and I told the principal that he would hear from my family lawyer within a few days. My lawyer gave him a call, the next day, and I immediately heard back from the principal that there must have been a "misunderstanding", and that my son was, indeed, being harassed. My son was no longer followed home.